This week the assignment for Fitness Friday is to share some literary encouragement that has helped me along with my fitness goals. I couldn't really think of anything that had to do with exercise, however, two excellent nutrition books I read recently are the "Real Food" books by Nina Planck. Her diet advice is very simple - eat food that resembles its natural state as much as possible. Raw veggies, lots of good quality, grass-fed meat, raw milk (Yes! Unpasteurized, non-homogenized milk! We drink it when we can, and it is SO much yummier than processed milk. And SO much better for us!), whole grains, and good, natural fats, such as olive oils, avocados, etc.
She discusses how she tried the "low-fat" diet and despite all the exercise she did, she could never drop her extra weight. Once she began feeding her body what it was designed to eat, her weight dropped to its healthy amount, and her energy level, moods, and health were better than ever. She does an excellent job of explaining not just what we should be eating, but why, and how to accomplish it reasonably. Granted, she writes from a secular point of view and discusses how our diets "evolved" with us, but the overall points she makes I find to be informative and accurate. I highly recommend her books! (My thanks to Suzanne at Adventures in Teething for her initial review of "Real Food", which inspired me to check both books out of the library!)
As far as my week has gone, we didn't go walking once. Not once! It was a really busy week. Thankfully, I DID start my weight training tapes (yes, good old fashioned VHS, lol!) and have been doing one body part each day. Monday was shoulders/back, Tuesday was abs, Wednesday was arms, Thursday was legs/buns, and Friday was abs again. I have Gilad's Quick Fix System (thanks Mom!). Let me just say that while Gilad is a bit "old school", his work outs are GREAT - very effective. And I happen to like that I don't have to be overly coordinated, contort myself in crazy ways, or have all sorts of fancy gadgets in order to get in shape - just a few light hand weights and I'm ready to go! I've been doing Gilad workouts since... well, ever since I started working out as a pre-teen! So he's familiar to me, and really, you can't beat that accent of his! So I feel like I had a productive week, despite the slack in walking.
As far as the junk food department, I went almost the entire week without any chocolate, and didn't do anyone serious harm! ;-) I did have Chick-Fil-A twice this week though (ack!) but I always order the Chargrilled Chicken rather than the breaded kind. And I only got fries one time, which is better than both times, right? *sigh*... I'm still working on this area, obviously.
Anyway, I don't know what next week will hold. Michael is toying with the idea of training for a marathon (he's toyed with that idea before, but never actually completed the training) so I might be losing my walking partner! :-( But no matter what he decides, I will do my best to keep at it.
For more fitness motivation, be sure to check out Fitness Friday at The Family Revised!
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10 comments:
I'm glad you enjoyed the "Real Food" books! I'm still waiting for the Mom and baby one; apparently there's quite a waiting list at the library!
Fries are my weakness, too. I swore them off earlier this year, but it didn't last, lol. I'm trying to see them as a treat, like birthday cake, but I keep coming up with excuses.
I've heard another good book about food is called "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan (he also wrote a book called "The Omnivore's Dilemma"). I haven't read it, but it looks really interesting (again, a secular book though). His motto is simple: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." But it discusses how what we eat today isn't really "food" and isn't making us healthy. I'm going to try to check it out of the library once I get settled in.
Also - nothing beats Gilad. He motivates me way more than actual fitness classes with other people, or any other tapes I've tried. Maybe that's just how I'm conditioned, who knows ;-)
You have such a nice blog. I'll have to come back later and read some more.
OK--I had never heard of that Gilad dude. Don't worry. My mom has a Richard Simmon's and the Silver Foxes VHS that I have been known to use! :) It's RS with celebrities old parents! LOL It's enough for me! ;)
Gilad and the accent is funny to watch sometimes. He's definitely old school like you said, but it works and that's all that matters!
Speaking of Gilad, have you seen the blooper tapes of him working out and accidently tooting while doing it? It's hilarious!
Fries are a hard thing to walk away from, I often tell myself just 3 fries, then it turns to 13. Especially McDonald's fries , ugh, those are killer!
Maybe you could join your husband in training for the marathon?
I really like the thought of eating food in its natural state. I've never tried raw milk. Wouldn't even know where to get it!
That first book you described sounds good. I may check it out.
So relieved to hear that nothing horrid happened without that chocolate!! You're doing a great job with the workouts.
I've heard of that book before I think...Now I really want to check it out! You are doing great! baby steps is what it takes :) Keep it up!!
Weight lifting is still very good exercise (especially good for women to fight osteoarthritic diseases) and can be cardiovascular too if you do the movements in a consistent rhythm with your breathing. :-) Besides, one pound of muscle will burn more calories per day than a 15-20 minute walk 2 or 3 times a week. Don't worry about this past week's walking - look forward to the week coming and try to make more of a concerted effort to get out and walk. Liliana, Nancy and I met at the park on Tuesday to walk together. Maybe you would like to join us on Tuesdays?!
oh, my goodness! i don't know how you get through Gilad!! if it is who i am thinking of (working out on circles near the beach?) he drives me nuts!
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